NEWS

Sembcorp wins 19b rupee wind power project in India

11 April 17 The Business Times by ANDREA SOH

Singapore

SEMBCORP Industries has won the bid for a wind power project in India which is estimated to cost some 19 billion rupees (S$405 million).

The project, which will have a capacity of close to 250 megawatts (MW), will be located in the southern state of Tamil Nadu and connected to India's central transmission utility. Sembcorp's renewable energy business in India, Sembcorp Green Infra, received a letter of award for the project following the first national wind power tender in India.

The entire electricity output of the project will be sold to PTC India, a power trading solutions provider listed on National Stock Exchange of India, under a 25-year long-term power purchase agreement.

To be funded with internal funds and debt, the project will be developed in phases and fully commissioned in the second half of the Indian financial year ending March 31, 2019, said Sembcorp.

Sembcorp Green Infra managing director and CEO Sunil Gupta said that the group is pleased to have secured the new project, through which it can support India's growth with sustainable wind power. "We will be locating the project in Tamil Nadu, a high-wind state, and plan to work closely with suppliers and contractors to deliver the project successfully," he said in a statement.

India is the largest contributor to Sembcorp's global power portfolio; the group currently has a power capacity of over 3,800 MW in operation and under development in the country, comprising 2,640 MW in thermal assets and the rest in renewable energy assets.

The group said last month that payment delay risks have made it more conservative with its expansion in renewables in India; state-run power retailers have fallen behind on payments to domestic and overseas clean energy companies, with delays of six to 12 months a common occurrence.

"A year ago, we would have looked at adding about 250 megawatts of renewables to our portfolio every year, but now it would be about 150 megawatts," Sembcorp India CEO Vipul Tuli was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

Globally, Sembcorp Industries has a capacity of more than 2,000 MW of renewable energy - including wind, solar and biomass - and energy-from-waste in Singapore, China, India and the United Kingdom. Shares in Sembcorp Industries closed one cent lower at S$3.14 on Monday.